ADDS DETAILS THROUGHOUT
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump announced Wednesday he is deploying troves of federal officers to cities he says are home to rampant violence, fulfilling his pledge to copy the ongoing controversial crackdown in Portland, Oregon.
"This bloodshed must end. This bloodshed will end," Trump said at the White House. "We’ve just started this process, and frankly we have no choice but to get involved."
Trump is already facing sweeping pushback after he deployed militarized federal officers to Portland, overriding demands he not do so from local and state leaders. He pledged to replicate that efforts on Monday.
The northwestern city has seen sustained daily Black Lives Matter protests following the fatal arrest of George Floyd in May.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler demanded Friday the federal "troops" remain inside their buildings, telling Trump the alternative is having "them leave our city."
He later said the buildup of federal personnel has escalated tensions in the Pacific northwestern city, rather than tamp them down as Trump insists he wants to see.
"Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism," Wheeler said during a CNN interview Sunday. "And it's not helping the situation at all. They're not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave."
"People are being literally scooped off the street into unmarked vans, rental cars, apparently. They are being denied probable cause and they're denied due process," he said.
He was referring to scenes that have been captured on camera from Portland appearing to show unmarked officers seizing demonstrators from city streets seemingly at random before throwing them into vans and speeding away.
The officers have also repeatedly used tear gas on protesters, and early Monday morning used the substance after protesters set a fire in the portico of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, a flashpoint of the demonstrations.
The Trump administration is facing a wave of lawsuits from the Oregon attorney general, lawmakers and private groups seeking the removal of the officers.
Undeterred, Trump pointed to Chicago, Philadelphia, Minneapolis and New York City as sites of what he called "communities plagued by violent crime," saying that in Chicago the Justice Department will be "immediately" deploying hundreds of officers.
"The FBI, ATF, DEA, US Marshalls Service and Homeland Security will together be sending hundreds of skilled law enforcement officers to Chicago to help drive down violent crime,” he said, referring to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Speaking alongside Trump, Attorney General William Barr sought to distinguish the actions the roughly 200 officers being sent to Chicago would be taking from those in Portland.
"The operations we're talking about the standard, anti-crimefighting activities we have been carrying out around the country for decades," he said. "This is a kind of operation, obviously, than the tactical teams we used to defend against riots and mob violence. And we are going to continue to confront mob violence, but the operations we're discussing today are very different."
Trump did not specify what actions he would be taking with the other cities, but said he would be sending officers to others "that need help."
"Other cities need help. They need it badly. They should call. They should want it. They're too proud or they're too political to do that," he said, pointing to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The push comes as Trump continues to portray himself as a "law and order" candidate ahead of November's presidential election.
But as the US continues to fumble its response to the coronavirus with cases skyrocketing in hotspots nationwide, multiple polls have Trump lagging behind presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden by double digits.